I know a girl that studies at Cambridge, and she says that almost everyone takes everything as a competition. People are prepared to stab people in the back to get ahead. Maybe it's just her college, but it doesn't paint a good picture.
I've heard that in american colleges ALOT of people do drugs so they can stay up and study as much as possible. There is some sort of legal drug that you can take, so you don't sleep and it is performance enhancing. One word: WTF?